Diesel

Diesel's Story

I met Diesel while working at a riding school. Diesel was extremely overweight. He was thought to have a behavioural problem because he kept tossing his riders from his back. This “behavioural issue” led him to be “fired” from the lesson program. He was plopped in the paddock with constant access to hay and grass. It turned out that Diesel was hurting through his low back and hind legs from the strain of carrying his own weight plus the weight of his rider. He was unable to communicate that he was uncomfortable being ridden in his current condition and tried subtly at first, with behaviour changes, to alert the coaches, staff and riders to this. With his behaviour going unnoticed or ignored he increased the intensity of his behaviour until he was finally heard when his intensity reached a “screaming” (throwing his riders off) level. My manager at the time knew I had some experience with rehabilitation and massage and asked if I could try to help get him back into work. Although nothing in Diesel’s health management was being done about his obesity problem I started a heat, massage, stretch routine that worked for his sore back and legs. I fell in love with this sweet and affectionate boy almost as soon as we started our routine together. When Diesel would be under the heating pad getting warmed up for his massage he would nuzzle me, rest his head on my shoulder or nicker while I scratched his ears and cheeks. Diesel and I spent lots of time together with me leading him at a walk to help keep his joints supple and to make sure he was maintaining some level of physical activity. When Diesel started to move more efficiently I would get on him bareback (without a saddle) for our walks. We reached a stage where he was ready for a fully tacked ride (with a saddle). We ventured out onto the trails with some other horse friends and riders. Upon returning to the barn I could sense that Diesel was getting restless but we took a walk around the outdoor ring so one of the other riders could go faster. I could feel that Diesel was going to buck and I readied myself, this was not my first rodeo. What I was not prepared for was the absolutely awe inspiring display of athleticism that I was about to encounter. For a large guy Diesel can be quite agile. I have to admit that I did not think him physically capable of what he did next, my mistake. I had succeeded so well at relieving the discomfort in Diesel’s back that he was in fact capable of rearing up to his full height on his hind legs, followed swiftly by him burying his head between his knees when he landed and giving me the most powerful buck he could muster. I was tossed. I hit the ground and sat up rather bewildered and impressed by what had just happened. I looked at the other riders to see if anyone had caught the live show or captured this moment on video. Diesel’s most athletic event was witnessed but unfortunately there was no video evidence. Now lots of people would be terrified at this moment and many would blame Diesel for his bad behaviour. I am not most people. He had told me that he was done with our ride, I had not taken him seriously and from past experience Diesel had learned that the only way to be heard was to “scream.” Diesel’s behaviour and my fall were entirely my fault. I quickly made sure that he hadn’t re-injured himself with his acrobatic performance and talked reassuringly to him, letting him know that I heard him and next time he wouldn’t need to “scream” so loudly. This ride was the deciding factor in the riding school’s decision to sell Diesel and my decision to purchase him as my personal horse. I knew that he could be a great riding horse again based on the athleticism he displayed and I loved his puppy dog attitude. Thus began our partnership.

I was leaving the riding school where I had met Diesel to pursue another coaching opportunity, Diesel moved to the new facility in April of 2021. This was the beginning of getting Diesel’s weight and some more of his pain under control. Diesel was adjusted by an equine chiropractor and I wish that I had taken a video of that adjustment because the relief that I saw in his eyes as soon as he had that first release reassured me that my money was being well spent on his body work. Diesel was living outside in the “Hippo” (diet) paddock with another horse that required weight management. He was on a round bale still but now with a slow feeder net. He was walked daily for short distances at first to the barn for his low calorie vitamin/mineral mix with a supplement to help decrease his anxiety. Diesel had become extremely anxious after moving and he did not like to leave his paddock mate/girlfriend for any reason. I quickly noticed that Diesel was an emotional eater, the more anxious he was leaving the paddock for any reason the more he pulled (dragged) me to the grass for stress relieving mouthfuls of grass. Needless to say that unrestricted food intake was not in Diesel’s best interest and so began our next phase of Diesel’s rehabilitation, emotional support and regulation.

Diesel’s anxiety levels made it so that it was not safe for him to be ridden for a few months while we continued to manage his food and supplement intake. Instead I worked with Diesel on his physical activity with me on the ground beside him, groundwork. Diesel was a creature of habit, most horses are, groundwork was started slowly. I started by gently pushing Diesel outside of his comfort zone, sometimes Diesel and I would just hang out together outside the gate of the paddock, each time getting a little further away before he would start to show me that he was anxious and sometimes we would take different routes to the barn, entering and exiting from different doors each time. I was simultaneously showing him that nothing terrible would happen if he took a different entrance into the barn and that he could trust me, I wasn’t going to let anything bad happen to him. Our bond was strengthening with each session. We got to the point that I could take Diesel into the indoor or outdoor ring and we began some desensitization exercises. Diesel was literally afraid of his own shadow in this new place. We would walk around the rings, I would let him stop and look at whatever made him nervous and we would walk by those things as many times as it took until they weren’t scary anymore. I brought some “toys” for Diesel to play with, pool noodles, bean bags, pylons (his favourite), plastic bags and even a kids’ pool. Diesel learned that new didn’t have to mean scary, and he was trusting me now when I encouraged him to be curious, not scared of the world around him.

We had reached a junction in our training, Diesel was now calm enough that he could be lunged (worked on a circle on a very long lead line). I was alternating between what I called “body days,” that were purely for his physical conditioning and “brain days,” that made him think about situations and how to handle them. As soon as Diesel could get through a body day without throwing a tantrum he was safe enough to ride. Riding Diesel gave me the opportunity to start combining body and brain workouts into the same session. Diesel was asked to take me over, around, through and in his toys. These are the workouts that I believe solidified our trust in one another and we still have an unshakable bond. Diesel had lost a bunch of weight and was building up his endurance with each passing week. Six months after starting our journey Diesel and I cantered under saddle for the first time together. It was an incredibly emotional day for me, I was validated in my horsemanship abilities and I could not have been more proud of my boy. With tears streaming down my face I told him that I always knew he could be what everyone else would consider “a good boy,” but to me he was a good boy from the start. Diesel came with me on my journey into the equine industry, we have worked together through summer camp, lessons, two more location changes and when I wanted to start my own business within the equine industry it was Diesel’s well-being and the type of work that I thought he was best suited for that lead me to open a trail riding company.

To all current and future clients, when you visit Tranquil Woods for your trail ride please give Diesel a special thank you, he is the reason that Tranquil Woods Trail Rides exists.